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JD Colour-Coded Breakdown

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JD Colour-Coded Breakdown

Dimension: Pursuit · Type: Stage

A four-step method for decoding a job description on a separate document, using a different colour for each category, so that what the role actually does becomes visible at a glance. The output is the working sheet you tailor your application against.

Introduced by Damla Deniz Taskin (OPCW) at the Breaking Down Job Descriptions session of the UN Inter-Agency Career Week 2026, on 6 May 2026, with a live walk-through on a real OPCW vacancy. Extended in the Working for Justice session by Sandra Čolić and Daiga Barone, who added the structural reading order before the four-colour analysis.

The framework

When to use it

  • During phase two of the Two-Phase Job Search, once you have decided to apply.
  • When the JD is long enough that key information gets buried (most P-3 and above roles).
  • When you are translating a JD across sectors and need to surface the underlying actions before reframing them.

What you need

The full job description, copied into a Word document or any tool that supports text colour or highlighting. Thirty to forty-five minutes per JD on the first pass.

The structural reading order, before the colours

Sandra Čolić and Daiga Barone added a step that comes before the colour-coded analysis: do not read the vacancy announcement for the job title alone. The structural signals upstream of the responsibilities section often filter out misfits before you invest time in the colour-coding.

Read in this order:

  1. Organisational unit. Where does the position sit? The unit signals the kind of work you will be exposed to. A position in the Office of the Prosecutor at the ICC signals investigation or prosecution work; a Registry position can still involve field work; a Trust Fund role exposes you to victim-facing programmes. The unit-level signal is consistent across UN agencies, IGOs, and adjacent organisations.
  2. Duty station. Where will you actually be? Headquarters, a regional office, a country office in a challenging environment, a virtual or remote arrangement? The duty station shapes the work, the rhythm, and the personal life implications.
  3. Candidate profile (education, years of experience). Read for both the requirement and the trade-off. In most UN system vacancies, more experience can offset the absence of a master’s degree. Daiga’s specific advice: do not disqualify yourself before reading the full profile. Research suggests women and young professionals often exclude themselves from lengthy vacancy announcements; read carefully before deciding you do not fit.
  4. Language requirements as disqualifiers. Working languages are usually English and French (or English alone). But situational languages can be required at proficient level for specific posts, particularly in country offices. Self-assess accurately. If a language is required at proficient level, “I get by in conversation” is not enough.

Then proceed to the four-colour breakdown of responsibilities, context, working relationships, and accountabilities.

The four colours

Work through the four colours in sequence. Use one colour per category; the colours themselves do not matter, but each category needs its own.

Colour 1, action verbs (under Responsibilities). Highlight every action verb in the responsibilities section: develop, plan, coordinate, manage, report on, assess, interpret, design, analyse, liaise, ensure, monitor. The action verbs alone tell you what the role does day to day. If you do not recognise yourself in most of them, the role is not a fit even if you meet the eligibility criteria.

Colour 2, context (asking “what?”). For each highlighted verb, ask “what?” to surface the domain and context. Highlight the answer in the second colour. Example: “develop, plan, coordinate, manage, and report on assigned programmes for capacity building, including training in chemical emergency response.” Verbs in colour 1; “assigned programmes for capacity building, including training in chemical emergency response” in colour 2. The “what” is where the technical specificity lives. This is also where you spot recurring terms (treaty articles, legal frameworks, programme names) that the marathon-runner reader stops to research.

Colour 3, working relationships. Highlight every phrase that describes who the role works with. Look for triggers like in collaboration with, in coordination with, liaise with, work closely with, represent the [unit] in. This tells you the level of seniority of the people you would be talking to and the type of stakeholder management the role demands. Ask yourself whether you have past experience operating at that level and whether you enjoy it.

Colour 4, accountabilities. Highlight every instance of the word ensure and close cousins (be responsible for, hold accountable for, deliver on). These mark what the role is on the hook for. They are different from responsibilities; you can be responsible for a task without being accountable for the outcome.

Worked example

The Day 3 session walked through a P-4 Senior Programme Officer JD at OPCW. Applying the four colours produced something like this on the responsibilities section:

  • Colour 1 (verbs): develop, plan, coordinate, manage, report on; assess, interpret; design; receive; analyse; liaise.
  • Colour 2 (context): “assigned programmes for capacity building, including training in chemical emergency response”; “political, social, and economic environment of assigned regions.”
  • Colour 3 (working relationships): “in collaboration with State Party institutions, divisions, and other partners”; “delegations, national authorities, and other stakeholders.”
  • Colour 4 (accountabilities): “ensure successful project implementation.”

The recurring legal anchor across the JD was Article 10 of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The marathon-runner move at this point is to look up Article 10, understand what it covers, and reference it explicitly in the motivation letter and any interview answer that touches on the role’s purpose.

Pitfalls

  • Doing the breakdown in your head and skipping the document. The visual separation is what does the work. Mental notes do not produce the same effect.
  • Highlighting too widely. If most of the JD is highlighted in any one colour, the category has lost its discriminating power. Be selective.
  • Stopping at colour 1. Verbs without context tell you the role does “things”. Useful, but not enough to tailor.
  • Missing the recurring technical or legal terms. Terms that appear repeatedly are not stylistic; they define the operating framework. Research them before drafting.
  • Treating ATS keywords as the goal of the breakdown. The breakdown is to help you understand the role. ATS optimisation is a separate concern.

When not to use it

When you are scanning a vacancy in phase one of the Two-Phase Job Search. The breakdown is for phase two, after the fit decision.

How I use it

Personal note pending. Davide to fill.

Notes compiled by Davide Piga. Last updated 2026-05-09.

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